Darkness Rising
by Kiddo7
Summary: Darkness rises… and light to meet it. The statement meant more to both of them than either could begin to understand. Snoke didn't even realize it's real implications. Darkness would indeed rise, and light to meet it, but not how either would expect. (Rating may change, also posted on An Archive of our Own)
1. Chapter 1

_Darkness rises… and light to meet it_.

The statement meant more to both of them than either could begin to understand. Snoke didn't even realize it's real implications. Darkness would indeed rise, and light to meet it, but not how either would expect.

Rey exhaled slowly, attempting to center herself. Meditating was now a stressful task, it was no longer the peaceful escape it once was. She now felt paranoid, afraid that if she let herself sink too deep, she would feel him, and he might feel her also.

It had been a few months since the battle of Crait, one hundred and two days to be almost exact, it was hard to tell when jumping from planet to planet. She wasn't sure why she started keeping track, maybe it was a form of comfort, yet Rey didn't know why she felt the need to since that day. Was it Luke's death? Was it being back with the resistance? Or was it because it was the last time she saw him? No, that wasn't it; she wouldn't let him be the reason she did anything. She had already done enough for him. Gave him too much, she believed in him, gave him the chance to change it all. Instead, he chose to rise to Supreme Leader, making him the ultimate enemy.

It should make their relationship simpler, he made his choice, and she made hers. But of course it didn't, it was all still hanging there in the force between them, the hurt, the anger, and the disappointment. She could feel it flow between the bond, sometimes just a twinge, and others a wave crashing down, threatening to drown her. She was just grateful the bond hadn't acted up as it did in the past. Rey swore she saw him out of the corner of her eye a few times or heard his voice, but she chalked it up to exhaustion.

The weeks following the battle were difficult for the resistance. Apart from the emotional toll it took on the group, they were down to as many people could fit on the falcon with nowhere to go and dwindling supplies. The mourning of lost ones increased the decline of hope they so desperately needed. Rey could feel the sadness and despair radiating off of everyone, herself included. It fell on Leia to keep the group together and with at least some spirit. The old general had a lot of practice, too much practice. It wasn't fair for all of this to befall Leia; she herself was dealing with an enormous loss. It wasn't too long ago she lost Han, and now she had to mourn the loss of her twin as well. She had officially lost her family, Ben included. The first week or so she seemed to be almost completely broken from all that occurred, but in true Leia fashion, she picked herself up and got back to work, once again putting the galaxy before herself.

After weeks of jumping from this old rebel base to that one, recruiting a few new members, the resistance finally picked a more long term location. Ajan Kloss sat in the Cademimu sector of the Outer Rim far and hidden from the First Order. The moon was covered with thick jungle, and humidity continuously sat in the air. The only place Rey could begin to compare this moon to was Takodana, but she tried not to think about that day.

Rey spent most of her day either training or helping repair the old, rickety ships they've managed to collect in the weeks following Crait. Keeping busy was good for her, she still wasn't used to the constant buzz of others around her or the responsibility of being the supposed "last Jedi". Although she wouldn't deny being back with Finn or meeting new friends like Poe and Rose wasn't great, she started to feel like she belonged at least a little bit, but also she felt guilt for not being completely honest. Rey still didn't tell Finn or anyone else about the bond, or anything else that happened that day, it worried her, knowing it would most likely ostracize her more. So she kept it to herself, no one would ever know what transpired between her and Ben, or was it Kylo for sure now?

As the resistance struggled to find stability again, so did the new Supreme Leader. Kylo spent most of his time in his quarters or in the training room, avoiding the repaired throne room as much as possible. This wasn't just because he didn't want to be anything like Snoke, but also because of her. The energy of the room its self was too much for him to bear. At times it felt that he could still feel Snoke's presence, the anger, hatred, and disappointment, but soon it became evident that those emotions could be his own projections. But none of it mattered now, he was the most powerful man in the galaxy and had other matters to attend to. He wouldn't let the thought of her cloud his mind any more than she already has. She chose that ragtag group of rebels over him, and the power they could have shared, and now she was his enemy, more than ever before. He could only be thankful their bond seemed to die with Snoke, the connection when she shut that damned ship's door on him appeared to be a fluke, some leftover remnants in the force. It was hard enough to be haunted by the memories of her that he didn't know what he would do if he saw her again. Of course, he did though, in dreams she was always there, sometimes fighting him with teeth bared, in others, they engaged in things even more frightening to him. The worst ones were the most subtle, her sleeping, occasionally uneasily, others peacefully right next to him, as if she was right there in bed with him, her soft sounds lulling him to sleep. He always woke up from these in a rotten mood, they left him feeling alone and regretful. But of course, he channeled these feelings into anger, lashing out at anyone who came across his path, and occasionally destroying something with his lightsaber.

Apart from this, another problem was starting to eat at Kylo, Hux. The ever-diligent general seemed to be everywhere Kylo turned, pressing him about this or that. Little did the new Supreme Leader know, Hux was slowly but surely planting seeds of doubt amongst the ranks. Sooner or later, the sneaky red-head would bring him down one way or another. He couldn't stand to see Kylo take Snoke's place just because of some stupid abilities he was granted at birth, Hux had to work for where he was today.

"Supreme Leader, there have been no new developments on the location of the resistance, it seems they have gone underground."

"Stop wasting my time Hux, unless you have some useful information, get out of my sight." Even though the mechanical growl of the mask, disdain could be heard in Kylo's voice.

"Don't you think we should expand our efforts on finding them before they have an opportunity to regroup?"

"Then, I'll leave that to you."

Kylo spun on his heel, strutting away before Hux could get another word in. He doesn't have the stomach for it, he thought, killing his mother would ruin him more than his father. If everyone in the First Order knew this, they would surely follow Hux over him. Plus, they had the scavenger girl, the one who somehow single-handedly took down both Supreme Leader Snoke and his sad excuse for an apprentice. He didn't know why, but he felt as if Kylo had a weak spot for her as well. It seemed he had many.

He entered his quarters, slamming his reconstructed mask on his desk. Where could they be? Hiding out in some distant hole in the galaxy, his mother, her band of rebels, and of course, her. They would find them eventually, and when they did, all of this would come to an end. Easier said than done. He knew deep down he didn't have it in him to kill Rey, she would have to kill him first.

It was then he sensed it, the sound seeming to be vacuumed out of the space around him, the energy shifted, he never thought he'd feel it again. His heart sped up, and his hands clenched, he knew that sound, and he knew what followed. Rey.


	2. Chapter 2

Rey sat on her makeshift bunk deep in the cave the resistance claimed as their base. She separated herself as much as possible from the others, it helped her focus more. She stared down at the Jedi text and did her best to translate the ancient language, but all it did was feed her frustration. The last Jedi, left to figure it all out without a teacher. She barely finished the thought before it happened.

Suddenly she felt it, the air around her turned electric, the silence deafening in her ears. Her mouth went dry when she realized what was happening, the bond had somehow opened like before. Her heart raced, Rey knew she shouldn't have her back turned to him, yet she felt almost frozen, terrified of turning around.

He watched her as she stood there, her back to him, the energy of the room getting tenser with each passing moment. She must have sensed him, how could she not, he thought, he observed the rigidness in her stance, she knew he was there.

"No." Was all she said, her back still to him.

"What?"

She already whipped around before he could finish the word. It startled him, her abrupt movement, and seeing her face again. It was easier when she was not looking at him with a stony stare.

"No to, to this!" Her pointed finger went quickly from her to him then back to her. Rey felt her voice shake with nervousness, unsure if this was even real, this shouldn't be happening, this was over.

"You know as well as I neither of us control this." His voice resonated with frustration.

"Snoke is gone, and I know I'm not doing it, so end it!"

Of course, she thought he was lying, why wouldn't she? But it still stung. "I can't, so we'll just have to wait until it ends."

Rey couldn't even look at him, her anger simmering low, but threatening to rise. She didn't want to see him, she tried to separate the two sides of the man, Ben, and Kylo. She could deal with Kylo and his menacing antics, but it was Ben she didn't want to see, and this echoed too much of him. Kylo killed him, so it was better to forget.

"So what do we do when it happens again?"

"We could just hope it doesn't."

Rey couldn't read him, his voice was flat and uninterested as if she was a nuisance to _him. _

_"_I hope I don't ever have to see you again."

Her words were ice, filled with disdain.

"You will."

Rey was speechless as he faded away, back to wherever he was before. She was relieved and grateful the force seemed to cut the conversation short. Rey really had nothing more to say, and his last words unnerved her. She knew what he meant. They would meet again, and more than likely it would be in the field of battle, and there was a reasonable probability one of them wouldn't make it out alive. The thought of having to defeat him post-Starkiller Base but pre-everything else was plain-sailing, but now, it was painful to contemplate.

Her life before all of this was somehow unchallenging compared to what it was now. Her only concerns were eating, scavenging, and surviving. It was straight forward and monotonous, physically demanding, of course, but uncomplicated. Now all it was was a jumbled mess of complications, that seemed to grow with each passing day. She thought the bond was dead and gone. Now the small glimpses of him and what she thought were imagined whispers seemed more significant, concerning, and for some strange reason it made her heart skip a tiny beat.

"Hey, Rey." The sound of Finn's voice bouncing off the stone walls approaching pulled her from her worried trance; he turned the corner, giving her a small smile, "Leia's calling a meeting.".

On the other side of the bond, Kylo held his head in his hands, breathing fiercely, seeing her again enkindled a plethora of thoughts and emotions. How did the bond open, and why? Like she said, it should have died with Snoke. The worst question was why he could feel a tiny bit of relief twinge inside him when he realized what was happening. He knew he shouldn't be relieved; if anything, he should feel anger and annoyance. But Kylo didn't, he, of course, felt anger but not annoyance. That was replaced with another emotion, an odd type of grief he refused to address. She was so cold, he could feel small flurries of rage emanating off of her, but that didn't shock him. Of course she was angry, who wouldn't be, being suddenly, intimately connected to your mortal enemy can do that to you. Oh, he did not like his word choice, they were psychically connected via the force, that was it, nothing more. Hopefully, this was just some strange occurrence that wouldn't continue to threaten his days, but for some odd reason he felt that wouldn't be the case.

He couldn't dwell on it, there was work to be done. Sitting in his quarters brooding about that scavenger was not something he could afford. He had multiple meetings to attend, something Snoke never did, and he can understand why. They were tedious and boring, plus it was the ideal setting for Hux to undermine him. Kylo knew about war, or more so battle. He knew how to fight, how to pilot, how to be in the middle of the action. He was also no stranger to politics, following his mother around during childhood, but it was the in-between he didn't know. He could never be a general, planning, strategizing, he didn't have the patience for it. His go-to plan was always to go into it blasters blazing, he proved that to everyone on Crait, just another occurrence Hux would never let him live down. It was an embarrassing display, he acted like a petulant child; it was not a good look for the new Supreme Leader. Now was the time to prove himself, and he would not let himself become distracted.

While Kylo left for his meetings, Rey was joining the Leia and the rest of the resistance. The small group sat and stood surrounding the old princess, morale was good today, members were finally feeling like things were getting back on track. Of course, it would never be the same without the hope of Luke Skywalker returning, and the loss of so many friends and family, but it would soon become the new normal. Rey was just not sure if she would ever fill the hole Luke left, but she knew the others were counting on her assuming the position. She was already treated differently than the others, and today would prove her suspicions.

Leia and what was left of the high ranking members went over all the typical information shared at these meetings. Supply levels, new recruits, friendly planets or systems for possible relocation if needed, news on the First Order. It wasn't until the end did Leia give the big news.

"We've got news of a spy somewhere in the middle rim," a quiet burst of whispers amongst the group emerged. Leia raised her hand, quieting the room to silence, she never failed to command a room. "I have decided to send a small group on a mission to retrieve the information.".

Rey could feel the excitement bubbling up inside of her chest. Finally, a mission! She would be able to go out and make herself useful, instead of slaving over some old books and her broken saber. She would once again be out in action. Yet her enthusiasm was soon squashed.

"Poe, Finn, and Rose, we're counting on you to fly under the radar and find this informant, you'll leave in the morning."

"What?" Rey wasn't the type to question the general, yet the word came out before she could stop it. She felt her face burn as all eyes sought her out. Leia met her with a knowing look.

"We are dismissed, I'll see you all at dinner." Everyone started to disperse, going to their daily tasks. Rey followed suit with her head down until the General stopped her. "Rey, stay a minute, I'd like to speak with you.".

" I know you're not happy about the mission," she continued before Rey had the chance to falsely refute, "I get it, you want to be out with your friends helping us, but it will be dangerous, and you're too valuable to risk."

The statement made Rey uncomfortable, just a year ago she was nobody, and now she was too important to do anything too risky.

"But Leia, I can handle myself! I'm the best fighter we have!"

"That's precisely why we can't lose you, and you're not just our best fighter, you're... you're,"

"What the new Luke? I can't be!"

"That's not what I'm saying, but you are essential to this group, we can not lose you." Rey could hear a sliver of sadness break through her steady demeanor and immediately felt guilt and regret.

"I'm sorry, General, it's just..."

She stopped Rey by taking her hand in hers, "It's alright, I was just as eager as you to save the galaxy when I was young." Leia gave a sad smile. She gave her hand a small squeeze, as Rey began to pull away. "And no one expects you to be Luke, just you."

With that, she let the young girl go on her way. She watched her go as her mind began to wander. She reminded her so much of Ben when he was young before he became the man the galaxy knows now. Fiery, eager, powerful, yet insecure. She never asked Rey what happened on Snoke's ship, but if her family's bisected saber was any indication, she knew it must have been intense and significant.


	3. Chapter 3

The light outside of the cave was harsh yet refreshing, Rey closed her eyes and let it wash over her. After the meeting and her discussion with Leia, she felt the urge to go out, train, be in the open air. Being around the others was suffocating, she felt foolish for her behavior at the meeting, yet she couldn't control it. She was already feeling isolated from the group, and now her friends were going on a mission without her. Rey knew that she was acting childish, but she wanted to be with them, they were the closest thing she had to a family. Like she told Leia, she was their most powerful fighter, yet she was stuck here. Rey knew they could handle themselves, but the thought still scared her if they couldn't.

Rey didn't have to walk far from the cave to find a small, hidden clearing in the vibrant jungle. She inhaled deeply, setting herself in her surroundings before retrieving her staff. Turning it in her hands made her miss the saber. It was much lighter and somehow more natural despite training with a staff her entire life. But she couldn't practice with a broken lightsaber, so she would use the next best thing.

She began by going over her usual stances, slowly building up momentum as she battled invisible enemies. She swung and dodged this faceless person or that one, working her frustrations out with each imagined hit. Rey could feel the force around her, she gave in to it, letting it guide her movements. This one down, then that one, her energy increasing with each one. She spun around, leading with the end of the staff, in more of a lightsaber fashion. She felt the end of it hit the air and stop in its tracks. When the haze of her exertion quickly dissipated, she realized who caught her weapon.

"You're angry."

In a huff, she turned away from him, "I'm not."

"You are, I could feel it. Why?"

She let an exhausted laugh pass between them, as she turned to face him, "I'm not angry, and even if I was, why would I tell you?"

"Because anger leads to the dark side."

Rey snapped, "Enough, I'm not angry!" He knew it was time to drop the topic. If they were going to have to live somewhat in each other's heads, fighting constantly would grow exhausting.

He changed the subject, "Where's the saber?"

It was the first time either acknowledged anything that transpired between them on that fateful day.

"It's broken, as you know."

"I know we broke it, but you still haven't repaired it?"

"No." Rey hated to admit it, she's tinkered with it for months, but nothing worked.

"Well, you shouldn't be running around improperly armed."

Why would he care? She thought, then, it suddenly hit her that they were casually talking, almost friendly, it sent a red flag in her head off. "What do you want, anyway?"

"Nothing, I was in my quarters reading when you came swinging that stick all over the place."

The thought of him seeing her in his room made her shift uncomfortably, she could see it in his eyes that he knew something was off.

"It's a staff." It was all she could respond with.

She took a moment to look at him, he was exactly how she remembered, big, intimidating, yet sad and broken beneath the surface. Rey wondered if she was the only one who could see it.

"What are we going to do about this bond?"

"Nothing."

"What do you mean, nothing?" Her tone was sharp.

"There's nothing we can do, I read everything I could get my hands on about force bonds, but ours is _different._"

"What do you mean by different?" Rey could feel her heart pound a bit harder at this fact. She just hoped he wouldn't be able to notice.

"Well, their usually between family members, or a master and padawan, and we're neither."

"You don't know..."

Kylo cut her off quickly, "No, we're not related." He seemed sure of it, and as if it was important to him. He wouldn't let her know that the thought of them being related made him queasy, many of the thoughts he'd held deep down about her went against familial ideals.

"So we do nothing about it? We just keep popping up on each other? On the opposite sides of a galaxy-wide war?"

When she put it like that, it did sound ridiculous, but he hadn't found a way of severing it, and he honestly didn't think there was. "There's a reason the Force is connecting us."

"I thought there was, but you destroyed that idea."

Her words stung him, she would never understand what he was offering her. But Kylo brushed off her slight, she was stubborn through and through. "Well, the Force knows better than us."

Rey shot him a look of annoyance. "If this is something we're going to have to live with, we need rules."

"Rules?"

"Yes, you don't try and find out anything about the resistance from me, and I'll do the same for you."

He rolled his eyes, seeing her here made him forget about the whole resistance anyway, none of it mattered, what mattered was the world they were going to build together, even though he wouldn't tell her that. It didn't go too well the last time.

"Deal."

He extended his hand to her, and she looked at it timidly. They hadn't touched since the fight in the throne room. She remembered their bodies moving in sync together, her hand gripping his thigh for stability. The thought made her cheeks grow hot.

She stretched her hand out slowly like she was afraid to touch him again. The moment passed with a feeling of apprehension for something that was supposed to be an insignificant exchange. Their hands met, to not just touch but shake this time. Rey only had a moment to focus on the warmth of Kylo's hand before she was thrown into a different plane of existence.

Rey felt as if she was falling; the drop in her stomach reminded her of the close calls she'd experienced while scavenging. The sensation stopped as she hit the hard ground. She touched the ground under her, it felt like sand. But it wasn't the fine sand found on Jakku, it was coarse, littered with large particles of rock. Around her, the sky was dark, a subtle chill seemed to hang in the palpable atmosphere. Lightning cut through the sky above, electrifying the air.

"Rey." A raspy voice called out to her. She turned to see a strange building in the distance. It was dark, ominous, sitting by itself on the flat landscape. Looming there, beckoning her to come closer. She saw it sat right above the planet's surface, radiating light, the only source of light apart from the crackling sky. This place was strong with the Force, the dark side.

The voice boomed again, "Come closer, child."

It was then Rey felt someone take her hand. She turned to see Kylo standing next to her, giving her a small closed-mouth smile. He started to walk toward the mysterious building, leading her hand in hand. Kylo was bringing her over to the dark side. She wrenched her hand free of his and began to scream as the illusion broke.

She opened her eyes to see Kylo still there, crouching next to her, staring at her intently. His hand was still gripping hers tight, his other supporting her back. She was sitting on the jungle floor, trying to catch her breath.

Kylo opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, he faded away, their bond snapping shut. She now felt harshly alone, the Force seemed to have a sick sense of humor sometimes.

She felt a tear escape her eye and streak her cheek. Was this a vision of the future? Or was it some weird metaphorical warning about their connection? Either way, it was significant. The Force was trying to tell her something, she just had to figure out what.

Rey looked up at the sky, the sun had shifted significantly, it was getting late, the resistance will be wondering where she'd gone. She was wondering the same thing.


	4. Chapter 4

Kylo watched her disappear in front of him, he felt panic set in as she returned to her side of the universe. Whatever she saw was dark, he could feel that much, and by the way she looked at him, Kylo was afraid it had to do with him. Her eyes were tearful with fear, even hurt. He wanted to know what she saw. Needed to.

The communication unit in the corner of his room's obnoxious alarm startled him. He looked at it wildly, reaching it quickly with long strides.

"What!" He roared, his finger crushing the response button.

"Supreme leader, General Hux requests your presence on the bridge immediately ." The voice came from some middle-ranking member Kylo didn't bother to remember.

He let out a huff of frustration, hitting the button again, "I'm on my way." Pushing on his helmet, he left the room in a stomp.

He strode onto the bridge, trying his best to keep himself together. He was angry with how their connection ended, Rey saw something that made her look at him like he was a monster. He did tell her he was, but he still didn't like it. She scared him, whatever she saw shook her bad, and he couldn't get a word before disappearing, leaving her sitting wherever she was, alone.

"Supreme Leader, there is an interesting development in the resistance's whereabouts."

Kylo could see the confidant smirk the general tried to conceal. "What would that be?" He never wanted to give Hux too much enthusiasm, he would only show him anger or complete indifference.

He instructed one of the nameless radar technicians to pull something up on the screen.

"Just moments ago, we got a reading of some activity out in the Unknown Regions." He pointed at a slight flicker of light out in the middle of darkness.

"This is what you called me up here for?" He saw Hux's smirk melt away, "A blip! That's nothing, bother me when you have something substantial!"

The general's voice came out strained with anger, "It is substantial, they could be out there."

"This is pathetic, one little flicker out in the middle of nowhere is not a growing resistance, try again." Hux raised a finger, his mouth opening in rebuttal, but Kylo had to have the last word. "And never talk back to me again like that."

Hux watched him walk away, dramatic as always. He knew he was lucky he got away without some assault from the Supreme Leader's _powers. _He thought the reading was important, but of course, it wasn't. Nothing seemed important to that egotistical man-child. Kylo Ren only cared about swinging that abomination of a weapon and getting mixed up in his _family_ drama, which always included the scavenger girl. Hux knew if he looked hard enough, he would find some thread of treason in him, and then he would be rid of him for good.

Rey found her way back to the base shortly before darkness began to fall, she took her time to return. She was trying to shake the vision from her mind, at least for now. Yet she could still feel the darkness from it clinging to her, like a thin layer of dirt on her skin. Everything from it terrified her and left her feeling cold. Rey knew Leia would sense something, she may have not been a Jedi, but she still had that famous Skywalker blood. Maybe she could avoid her, but her friends were a different story. They were easier to fool, force-wise, but they would be able to tell by the look on her face, the sound of her voice. She loved them all, yet sometimes they overwhelmed her. Plus, she knew they could never understand, no matter how hard they tried.

It wasn't that difficult to sneak into the cave without much notice. The few people who worked close to the opening, which acted as their hanger, were engrossed in their tasks. She passed by them, her eyes fixed forward, just wanting to get back to her nook of the cave she considered her bunk. Though her plan was soon diverted.

"Oh, Rey! We were just gonna grab you for dinner." Rose exclaimed, joining her at her side.

Rey liked Rose, she was always positive, even when no one else was. She was just getting to really know her. After the battle of Crait, Rose spent a few days in a coma, and then weeks recovering. It took her over a month just to get back to doing very gentle mechanic work for limited hours. Finn stayed by her side throughout the recovery process, until she insisted she was fine on her own. By now she was already back to her old self, and ready for a mission according to Leia. Rey felt guilty for that last thought, she did really like the girl.

"Finn kept insisting we all eat together tonight." Rey knew what she was implying, just in case the mission goes south. This led Rose into the conversation Rey hoped no one would start. "I hope you're not upset about the whole mission thing."

Rey could feel her embarrassment creep up from her chest. She didn't want her friends or the rest of the resistance, thinking she was some entitled brat. The thought made Kylo pop into her head. Her words came out a jumbled stutter. "Of course not! I just didn't... I... I guess I just felt a little left out."

Rose's eyes lit up in a type of sympathetic shock, "Oh Rey. You can never be left out, you're our Jedi!"

"Yeah, I guess." It was all Rey managed to respond with. She knew some people must look at her as a sort of savior, a beacon of hope was how Leia would have put it, but she didn't feel like it. She was severely undertrained, and learning on her own was barely helping. Rey also didn't want to be their _chosen one, _she just wanted to belong, like everyone else.

Rey followed Rose deeper into the cave, other members were lining up to get their share of dinner rations. They followed suit as Rose talked about this mechanic project or that one. She tried to listen, but she found herself unable to focus, her mind continued to wander to the vision, and Kylo Ren.

The girls met Finn and Poe sitting on a few boxes set aside from the rest of the group. It acted as a makeshift table in the area they designated as the central meeting spot. It was difficult living and working in such an incomplete base, but it was nothing worse than what Rey and many others have dealt with in the past.

"Look who decided to join us! Take a seat." Poe patted on the box beside him. Rey gave a soft smile and sat down. She liked Poe, he was friendly and handsome, but reckless. "Where have you been all day? Last we saw of you was at the meeting."

"I was just out training." She felt an immediate twinge of guilt if they ever knew she was having an almost friendly conversation with their mortal enemy.

"Oh, also, I hope you don't mind we're taking the falcon tomorrow."

Rey coughed a bit on the sip of water she just took, "You're what?" She stared in disbelief at the pilot.

"Well, it's the only one big enough for the four of us, and it is the fastest ship we have."

She immediately thought of Han. Rey would have loved to know what he would have thought of Poe, and him flying his ship. "Is Chewie going?" She knew the wookie wouldn't let anyone take the Falcon without him.

"Yeah, he is." Finn chimed in, looking uncomfortable.

"Well, that's, that's great." Rey tried to hide her evident disappointment and growing anger.

The rest of their meal was eaten in an awkward exchange of pointless conversation. Rey remained silent for most of it but assured them she would be there to see them off in the morning. She bid them goodnight and retreated to her bunk deep in the cave. She chose a spot far from the others, feeling the need for privacy.

She passed almost no one on her way back, which was good, she didn't want anyone to see the emotions she now let run free on her face. Her anger seemed to rise with each step into solitude. They were all leaving, even Chewie, with the Falcon. She felt connected to the ship, and to see it fly away without her would pain her, and she didn't completely trust Poe with it either.

Once she was in her nook of the cave, she could feel the tears sting her eyes. Rey felt suffocated by her emotions, she was alone her whole life, and now she couldn't stand to be.

_You're not alone_.

His voice rang in her ears. Was he the only one who would always be there for her? And would he only be there for her in the dark?

Her frustration built up into a rage-filled fist hitting the cave wall. She felt cried out, her knuckles split, and shock traveled up her arm.

And across the universe, he felt it too.


	5. Chapter 5

Kylo looked across his training room to see Rey standing there. She was clutching her bloodied hand, tears running down her face. He wondered if she even noticed he was there. But, as if on cue, her eyes flickered up to his face.

She looked at him. His hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat, she knew by what he was wearing that he must have been training. He wore a tank top, leaving his arms exposed down to the wrist where his ever-present gloves covered him. She hated the feeling that seemed to arise while looking at him, it was a feeling that seemed to make her stomach coil. This added to her growing frustration. She didn't want to feel this way, this was Kylo Ren, Ben was gone. Rey thought she could change him. Even after what happened on _The Supremacy_, she still held the tiniest bit of hope he was still in there somewhere, but this vision severely threatened that.

"Go away." She seemed to whisper it.

He moved closer to her, "What did you see?"

"I said, go away!" She looked at him, not with fear, but with just the appearance of someone breaking down. He'd seen it in the mirror several times. He took a step closer to her. She hadn't taken her eyes off of him, and he matched her.

"Rey, please." He said the same word the way he did after fighting the guards.

"No." This response was calm.

He moved towards her again, but before he could say anything, she went to shove him away. He felt it before she moved and reached out to grab her wrists. Kylo expected her to rip herself free of him while declaring him some version of a monster. Yet she just stared at him holding back tears, shaking a bit with each breath. His grip on her loosened, but his hands remained around her wrists. As the short moment passed, he watched her strained face begin to crack, showing sadness and frustration. Tears began to fill her eyes again. Whatever she saw was bothering her.

He gave her a moment, just looking at her, studying her face. Did he have a right to know? The thought flickered through her mind. Maybe he did; he would tell her if he saw something, wouldn't he? She would tell him, just not right now.

"I just don't want to talk about it right now." Rey attempted to sound confident, but it still seemed weak. She began to lower her arms.

He took a deep breath, later was better than never. "Well, at least let me see your hand."

"What?" she looked confused as if the question came out of nowhere.

Her surge of emotions seemed to make her ignore the throb in her knuckles. Rey, all of a sudden, felt childish for physically expressing her feelings. It was something Kylo does, not the supposed last Jedi.

"Oh." She lowered her right hand, him moving his hand away from her wrist to take hers, and letting the other go. She felt the warmth of his palm spread through hers, he finally broke eye contact, his eyes moving to study her hand.

"Can you move your fingers?"

"Why are you helping me?" Of course, she wanted to argue. He wondered how long they could keep having the same conversation before it became tiresome.

"You can't go injuring yourself, how would we have a fair fight." She looked at him, her finally relaxed face began to tighten again. "Kidding." He said in a flat tone. I guess he never was particularly funny.

Rey never thought she would never hear even the slightest joke leave his mouth, yet here he was holding her hand kidding around.

"Now seriously, can you move your fingers?"

She extended her fingers and then curled them back into a fist. They were stiff with pain and swelling, but she could indeed move them. His thumb brushed the raw skin with his gloved thumb, causing her to inhale with a hiss. He pulled his hand away at this point, realizing how long he'd been holding it.

"So what immovable object did you get into a fight with."

"I punched a wall." Her voice came out in a low, embarrassed tone. And all he could respond with was a small chuckle.

His smile was another thing Rey he unexpectedly shared with her today. "Why are you laughing?"

"It's just something I would do, but not you, you're not the type."

"You don't know anything about me." Her eyes flickered away from his back to her hand. He could tell even she knew it was a lie.

"We both know that's not true."

She just stared at him, as if threatening him to continue. Rey hated to admit it, but he was right. He did know things about her, but she knew stuff about him too. She wondered if she was the only one since becoming Kylo Ren did he show vulnerability like he did with her. She recalled his pleading eyes when asking her to join him, the emotion shown plainly on his face.

Rey couldn't think of what to say back to him. She just scoffed and looked away, she hoped it would change the subject. It wasn't wise to drive the discussion any farther; she was already feeling emotionally overwhelmed. She didn't need another blow.

"Where are you?"

"What?" The question threw Rey off, Didn't they just agree not to pry for information? "Why would I tell you?"

"Not in the unknown regions?"

Nothing was in the unknown regions, so she wasn't giving anything away.

"Why would we be in the unknown regions?"

"It's nothing just trying to prove Hux wrong."

The odd sense of comradery between her and her supposed ultimate enemy confused her. But at the moment, she wouldn't question it, talking to him like this strangely calmed her.

"Why would he think we'd be there?"

"Just a little blip on the radar, could have been anything." Once again, his openness surprised her. After her initial surprise faded, another question seemed to pop into her head, as if it wasn't even her own.

"When did he see it?"

"Right after our last..." He waved his finger between the two of them. She knew that he also couldn't find a word for it. Meetings, connections, mental rendezvous. Rey didn't like to think of it that way.

For some reason, it seemed significant, as if the two had something to do with one another.

"Interesting."

It was all she was able to say before the connection snapped, making her feel oddly empty, standing there alone.

Rey's last word left Kylo stumped, was it interesting? The blip and vision coinciding as they did, were they somehow connected? Then again, how would he know when she didn't tell him what she saw. It frustrated him, he knew she didn't trust him, but in the end, he was the only one who could genuinely understand what she was going through. They were the two most powerful Force users in the galaxy, on opposite sides of the war. It wasn't ideal. Often, thoughts of what could be if that weren't the case would plague him. Kylo tried not to dwell too much on them, it wasn't reality, destiny seemed to have different plans for them. Yet sometimes he would find himself, much like tonight letting his mind wander.

He thought of training her, teaching her all about the Force, the light, the dark, and everything in between. Helping her grow into who she was meant to be powerful, strong, beautiful. Yet the idea was always cut short when he found himself reminded that Rey was already all of those things. Kylo knew these thoughts were dangerous, she was his enemy, and yet he often found himself thinking about her as a type of strange, opposing companion, especially when the bond came into play.

He also thought about training her physically too. Sparing together, whenever he thought about it, it made his heart race. The idea always brought the memory of fighting the Praetorian guard together. Their bodies in perfect sync, as if it were some violent dance, the Force seemed to choreograph. He imagined them sparring, never threatening, but intense. The raw adrenaline pumping through the bond and their bodies. He imagined them touching, her body hot under his hand. It was moments like this when he was thankful Snoke was no longer lurking in his thoughts. His former master had caught his thoughts trailing down a similar thought pattern about "the scavenger," and he would never let him forget about it. He trained himself to think of her as nothing more than an enemy, but now with only him in his head, it was difficult to avoid it.

Kylo thought about touching her wounded hand today, whenever they came in contact, it was like a spark would ignite. He felt a strange desire to be closer to her whenever they were connected. He often wondered if she felt the same, but his mind always told him that would never be the case. Who would want to touch a monster? It was usually thoughts like this that would break the fantasy, but in the solitude of his bedroom, he found himself falling asleep thinking about the last Jedi.

He saw Rey standing in front of him, panting with exersion, they were back in Snoke's throne room. He often found himself again in this moment in dreams. Fire seemed to fall around them. Standing there amongst the chaos made her seem to radiate light more than she already did. They appeared frozen there, he could only hear his breathing and the sound of his racing heartbeat. In dreams, he was able to be as irrational and passionate as much as he cared to be, and he found himself walking towards her. Kylo expected her to step back, or look at him with a look of alarm, yet neither happened. She just stood there amongst the destruction as if she was waiting for him to close the space between them. He reached her, with only a step between them. She looked up at him, studying his face as he did hers. Only a moment passed before he grabbed her face pulling her into a passionate kiss. Even in his own dream, he expected her to pull away, but she didn't. She snaked her arms around his neck and returned it full force. His whole body seemed to melt within as he deepened the kiss. He didn't notice the dream around him fall apart as he pulled her in even closer. The scene was changing from the throne room to some dark place he didn't know. He only became aware as a bone-chilling voice seemed to boom around him.

"Your coming together is your undoing."

Kylo immediately pulled away from Rey, fear rising within him. He expected a similar look to appear on her face, but all she did was smile at him. She was adorned in black. Her face was pale, and her eyes hollow, but that wasn't what bothered him. It was the yellow color that replaced her peaceful hazel irises. He was only able to observe her for a moment before she plunged a red, double-sided saber into his chest.

He gasped, sitting straight up in bed. His hand went instinctively up to his bare chest, looking for a fatal wound, but found none. He could feel the fast thumping in his chest that could only be from fear or passion. In his case, both. He ran his hands through his sweaty hair, attempting to slow his breathing and relax. It was just a dream.

In his panic, it took him a moment to realize he was not alone; the lump next to him in bed rekindled his fright, but only for a second before realizing who it was. Rey. The real Rey, not the demonic manifestation that attacked him in his dream. He knew she must have been asleep by her deep breaths, and the fact she wasn't jumping up and away from him. He tried to slide back into his sleeping position without waking her after his nightmare, he felt strange comfort having her there.

He laid there a while, letting her soft sounds lull him to sleep like an intimate lullaby. Soon he found his breathing matched with hers, and he was able to fall into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Days passed without the slightest twinge of the bond. Kylo couldn't admit that it bothered him, he knew he should be happy. At least, it gave him time to think. He wouldn't tell her about the nightmare or waking up next to her, it was better. They were already treading a thin line, and he knew she wouldn't be thrilled to know they shared a bed. Part of him hoped it would happen again, he slept better than he cared to admit, even after the dream. He just tried to push it out of his mind, he's had dreams about the throne room and her before, but this one was different. Who's voice was it? The question bothered him. Hearing it reminded him of Snoke booming inside his head.

"Supreme Leader?" Hux's voice cracked like a whip, regaining his attention, "Something else on your mind?"

Kylo looked up to see the rest of the table staring at him with nervous faces. It was a look he was used to getting from people as if they were just waiting for the bomb to detonate.

"It's none of your concern." He watched the general's mouth begin to smirk, but he wouldn't let him get away with it, "And, it's hard to stay interested when you have nothing to report."

The air in the room immediately grew tense. Kylo waited for some defeated jab, but Hux's smile only grew. "Well, this should interest you, some of our sources have reported seeing a YT-1300f light freighter in the middle rim."

It was moments like this where Kylo was thankful for his mask, this information did indeed interest him. "Good, send out a message, tell everyone to be on the lookout."

A small voice came from one of the high ranking officers seated amongst them. "I'm sorry Supreme Leader, but why not just send an order to destroy it?"

Kylo couldn't seem to come up with a good answer, and he could tell the room was waiting on him. Before he could respond, Hux threw a verbal right hook. "What? Feeling nostalgic, Ren?" Nobody dared to look at either man. The general started to pace confidently, "Or maybe it isn't the ship...maybe it's someone on the ship." By the look on his face, Kylo knew he wasn't talking about his mother.

"Clear the room! Now!"

Everyone scrambled, gathering their reports as fast as possible, trying to get out of the board room as soon as they could with heads down. It only took a few seconds before both men were alone.

"Did I strike a nerve?"

From across the room, Kylo squeezed Hux's throat tight in a phantom grip. "What do you think you're doing? Trying to make me look weak?"

He released his grip for him to answer, but he had to wait a moment for the general to regain his breath. "I'm just trying to make sure your _complicated _relationship with some of the resistance members isn't clouding your vision."

Each word out of his mouth increased Kylo's anger. And it was because he was right. He knew Rey was most likely on that ship, and he couldn't command anyone to shoot the Falcon out of the sky. He already did it once and regretted it since.

He shoved Hux with one wave of his hand, but even him hitting the wall didn't shake the smug look off of his face.

"Watch yourself general, it would be a whole lot of paperwork to replace you." He began to walk out of the room as Hux got to his feet.

"Same to you, Supreme Leader, remember, scavengers are a sneaky sort."

It was this that finally pushed Kylo over the edge, throwing a punch that rocked Hux against the wall again. No Force needed.

It seemed for once Hux did get the last word. The punch was worth it, as was watching the inadequate Supreme Leader storm off like the petulant child he was, defeated. Soon everyone would see him as Hux did, a wannabe dark lord tiptoeing around finding the resistance because their Supreme Leader was, or will indefinitely become a traitor. He always thought it was his mother that would turn Ren away from the First Order, not some girl with a pretty face. It was truly pathetic. And now the whole board of officers knew something was holding him back. As time went on, he would show everyone just who Kylo Ren was.

He already found the supposed damaged surveillance tapes from the day of Snoke's demise. So far, he was able to get a few trusted technicians to repair only the elevator footage, the throne room one was much more damaged. Yet he still found the evidence already damning. Even without audio, their conversation seemed far too intimate for two people who just engaged in an aggressive battle only days before. He smiled, thinking about the gruesome scar she gave him. Too bad the scavenger didn't kill him. Yet it would be much more satisfying to watch the great Kylo Ren fall and give the order himself to end him. Hux looked in the reflective surface of the table, a black eye already forming. Yes, the punch was well worth it.

Rey made herself busy around the base, working on this ship, or leaving to train, anything to pass the time. Finn and the rest of her friends should be returning at some point in the day. She was excited to see them, but listening to tales of their latest adventure would be hard. What would she have to tell them? She's been trying not to mope too much? That she was no closer to being a Jedi than she was a month ago? Or that she got so upset and the only person there to comfort her was the man trying to destroy them? No, she would never tell them that, or about Kylo in general. She knew they could never understand, especially Finn. She couldn't risk losing him or anyone else. The frequency of the bond worried her though, what if next time she wasn't alone. She couldn't worry about it, it was out of their control, they could only take it as it came. But it didn't seem to be too big of a problem, Rey hadn't seen Kylo in a few days, she steadily looked over her shoulder expecting to see him, or for that the lack of sound would hit her. But it never came.

She supposed it was for the best, but it left her lonely with a strange pang of guilt as well. Kylo Ren was not exactly the person you wanted in your head, yet it gave her something she always longed for; someone who would always be there. She would never admit it though, she would go on trying to hate him, or at least be indifferent to him.

"Hey Rey, they're back!" The approaching voice belonged to Kaydel Connix, a young lieutenant she had found company in, in the last few days. Kaydel was close with Poe, Rey wondered precisely how close based on how the girl talked about him.

When she first met him, Rey thought she might feel like that about the suave pilot too, but that soon fizzled out. He was a good friend, but romantically, she could never see herself with him. He was too confident, too smooth, and in an odd way too handsome. Whenever she thought about these things, her mind always went to Ben, or Kylo Ren now, even against her best attempts to stop it.

She remembered the first time she saw him unmasked. The horrible face of the imposing monster that she imagined was not what he revealed when he took his mask off. The old, scarred or deformed face she expected, was smooth, young, and strangely handsome. Kylo didn't look like the men on Jakku. He was incredibly pale, his skin didn't have that dried, sun and sand worn element that was inevitable on a desert planet. He was unblemished. The thought that only hours later she would slice that skin open, marking him for life, made the memory stand out even more. She often wondered what he must have thought the first time he saw her.

Rey followed Connix through the maze of tunnels to the mouth of the cave. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw the Falcon sitting there in one piece, and started searching for her friends.

A large group huddled around the four of them, Chewie included. She weaved around the others, Finn's face lit up when he saw her.

"Rey!" He ran over to embrace her, and she returned the sentiment. "We have loads to tell you!"

"Not before you tell me." Leia appeared next to them, with Chewie's fury arm wrapped around her shoulders. Seeing Chewie next to the former princess always emphasized her tiny frame that much more. Rey felt her mind go to Kylo again, wondering how someone that small could produce such a large son. His height definitely came from Han. She tried not to think of the Solo family too much. All it did was make her sad.

The intel Finn, Poe, and Rose gathered was intriguing and slightly comforting to the resistance. The First Order seemed to be more focused on building their forces and gathering more systems under their control rather than hunting them. Of course, this wasn't good news, but it gave them more time to strengthen their own organization. What was more interesting was the current temperament of their enemies.

Since Kylo Ren ascended to Supreme Leader, it seems that the reception was divided, to say the least, some didn't question it, while others did. And from what the spy said, it was just growing worse. There were whispers of mutiny amongst almost every rank, stoked by someone in the higher up. Rey wondered if Kylo suspected any of this. She was sure he didn't trust many people, if any, but did he know they were trying to overthrow him? How he swept the whole murder of Snoke under the carpet was another question that came to mind. Obviously, no one knew he did it, they would have killed him for it. Rey assumed Kylo put the blame on her; in a way, it angered her, but she understood why he did it, it was self-preservation, something she knew well.

It felt good to be back with her friends for dinner that night. She listened to their stories of funny and thrilling moments imagining she was there with them. But it didn't take long to for the subject of the new Supreme Leader to come up.

"Can you believe that about Kylo Ren? I thought he'd have everyone scared into submission." Poe questioned while eating a dry piece of rationed bread.

"Even his own people want him dead." Finn gave a small chuckle.

"Must be a sad life." The comment from Rose shocked them.

"He deserves it." The pilot said sharp tone.

"I know he's a horrible monster, and I want him gone as much as everyone else, but you have to wonder."

"Well Rey knows him the best." The comment from Poe had a twinge of suspicion in it. His distrust in her made her clench her teeth to calm herself before responding. Her anger at the implication seemed to spread all too quickly. She needed to relax. All their eyes on her made her sweat.

"What makes you say that?" She tried to keep her tone cool.

"Well you both have the Force, and you did see him on the _Supremacy, _you must have talked or something."

Rey didn't realize everyone knew about that. The whole resistance assumed she killed Snoke, but luckily no one questioned what she was doing there in the first place.

"Not really, we just fought." Her voice was small, her eyes fixed on the plate in front of her, it wasn't exactly a lie. They did fight, but together rather than against one another.

Rose saw the discomfort in Rey's face and changed the subject, asking her what kind of machinery she'd been working on. For the rest of dinner, Kylo's name didn't come up again which Rey was thankful for. The complexities of their relationship was confusing enough for her, she couldn't imagine her friends attempting to understand it.

Kylo sat in his quarters, he could feel his blood boiling. Hux was such a smug, little bastard. How dare he try to question his intentions and loyalty like that? He knew if he stayed in that room with him any longer, Hux's life was definitely in danger. Kylo didn't like hearing anyone talk about his past or his family, and he especially doesn't like anyone talking about Rey. Their relationship was private, no, it was more than that, but he couldn't explain how. It seemed to exist in every realm, they were connected by fate, one way or another. Hux and everyone else should keep her name out of their mouth.

He wished the bond would activate. Part of him knew if anything serious happened to her, he would feel it, yet he still found himself anxious. Rey had been off on some mission doing who knows what and with who knows who. For some reason, both of her new male friends popped into his head, the traitor FN-2187, and even worse that pilot Dameron. He knew Dameron's type, suave, charming, and careless, Kylo had faith that Rey would be able to see through it. He just hoped their next meeting would not be a fight, he was in no mood. The question of Rey's vision was still on the table, it was a touchy subject, but he still needs to know.

The vision bothered her, and it bothered him, not knowing why. For some reason, his mind wandered to his nightmare. Kylo didn't think much of it in terms of some prophetic vision, but it made him wonder if she ever dreamt of him too. And if she did, what were they like? Were they all nightmares of him characterized as a terrifying monster, or were they like his? He hoped for the latter, but a small voice in his head insisted that she didn't dream of him at all.

He would ask her about what she saw next time they connected; hopefully, by then, Rey would be willing to tell him.


End file.
